Humanities Timeline

Germanic Tribes and Early Christians: Tacitus' Germania (Tacitus' funeral oration for L. Verginius Rufus)

97 BCE

Tacitus' writings are important because he gives valuable insight on the Roman point of view of Germanic tribes. He is also important because he has been used as an excuse for war and aggression due to his thoughts on races other than his own.

Germanic Tribes and Early Christians: Edict of Milan

313

The Edict of Milan is the agreement to treat Christians benevolently and to make Christianity legal in Rome.

Germanic Tribes and Early Christians: Nicaean Creed

325

The Nicaean Creed establishes that god is in fact made up of three parts, a trinity, this agreement helped to settle disputes in the Church of Alexandria.

Byzantine: Theodosius ll Builds Wall Around Constaninople

404

The wall built in 404 was the final straw that broke Rome into two parts. Now, Rome in the east would be known as the Byzantine Empire.

Germanic Tribes and Early Christians: The Sacking of Rome by Alaric

410

At this time Rome was sacked by King Alaric and his Visigoth army. This was the first and last time Rome would ever be sacked as magnificently.

England: Legions Depart

410

Roman Legions leave the northern peninsula of England and surrounding areas.

England: Anglo-Saxon Invasion

448

The Anglo-Saxon tribes were fiercely independent and war-like and they needed homes, England was nearby and thus invaded.

France: The Merovingian Dynasty

Period: 457 to Dec 25, 754

Featuring the likes of the Battle of Tours, Pepin the short, and king Clovis. The Merovingian lived where modern day England lies and dominated surrounding areas.

France: Reign Of Clovis

481

Clovis was the first Frankish king to unite all of the Frankish tribes and to ensure that ones child becomes king after one's self.

France: The Salic Law

500

The main goal of these legal codes were to codify their own set of laws in writing so that they could not be prosecuted against by other rulers.

England: The House of Wessex

519

Also known as the House of Cerdic, they refer to the family that initially ruled a kingdom in southwest England known as Wessex.

Byzantine: Justinian Becomes Emperor of Byzantine Empire

527

He is commonly known as the "Last Roman", for his contributions to the restoration of Rome and his rewriting of Roman laws. His biggest architectural achievement was the Hagia Sofia, however his glory would be short lived since Bubonic Plaque swept Rome soon thereafter.

Byzantine: Nika Revolt

532

During and after this great revolt and fire, the most spectacular Roman church would be built, the Hagia Sofia. This church differed from the norm in that it was far more intricate and beautiful then any church before.

France: Gregory of Tours, History of The Franks

594

As well as Gregory being a historian, he was also a well known bishop who was said to be connected to 12 before him. This effects his representation of Clovis because he is just as pious as him and is more biased towards him.

Islam: Ali Is Murdered, Creating Sunni/Shia Split

Dec 24, 601

the split between the Sunni and Shia occurred after Ali was murdered in 601. The dispute occurred and lead to a split on whether Muhammad was the last or first prophet.

Islam: Muhammad leaves Mecca for Medina

Dec 24, 622

He left his city since god told him that conspirators were plotting to assassinate him. Now, many people make pilgrimages back to Mecca, the holy land.

Islam: Muhammad Conquers Mecca

Dec 24, 624

Whilst conquering Mecca Muhammad called out a highly influential statement that would affect many others centuries later. He stated that if you die in battle for Islam you will go paradise (Heaven).

Islam: Umayyad Empire

Period: Dec 24, 661 to Dec 25, 750

Established after the death of Muhammad, this is the second of four Islamic caliphates. Although It's laws on taxation and basic rights were perceived as unjust, at it's largest extent it was 5.79 million sq. miles.

England: The Venerable Bead's Writing

Dec 24, 673

His work made the religious texts of Latin and Greek more open to Anglo-Saxons.

Islam: Dome of Rock Built in Jeruasalem

Dec 24, 688

One of the oldest Islamic religious sites, the Dome of the Rock is built on the foundation stone of the place where Abraham sacrificed Issac.

Germanic Tribes and Early Christians: Beowulf

Dec 24, 701

This is the earliest old-English poem ever to be found. The date of the poem is important to understanding the Epic Poem since it was written in a time of darkness, none as the Dark Ages. We also need to understand which tribes were feuding at this time, as well as the war-like aggressive nature of people then.

France: The Battle of Tours and Charles Martel

Dec 24, 732

The Battle of Tours was between the Umayyad Caliphate and the Franks lead by Charles Martel, the Franks were victorious.

Islam: The Abbasid Empire

Period: Dec 24, 750 to Dec 25, 1258

The Abbasid Empire was the third of the Islamic caliphates to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as that the Abbasid Empire descended from Muhammad's youngest uncle, Abbas.

France: Pepin The Short

Dec 24, 751

Pepin The Short was the King of the Franks from 751 until his death. He was the first of the Carolingians to become king.

France: The Carolingian Dynasty

Period: Dec 24, 800 to Dec 25, 924

This royal family rules much of southern modern day England and conquered nearby viking civilizations.

France: Charlemagne is Crowned by Pope

Dec 25, 800

This proves that Charlemagne is divinely legitimate and that he deserves the right to the crown as emperor.

England: Alfred The Great

Dec 24, 849

The two things Alfred is most notable for was his ability to unify England and scholarship.

Middle Ages: Population Growth (In Europe After Ice Age)

Dec 24, 950

After temperatures warmed and the small scale ice age ended, many more tribes returned to agricultural farming resulting in more food, resulting in more produce being able to support a larger population, and eventually a larger population growing.

Byzantine: Schism Between Greek Orthadox and Roman Catholic

Dec 24, 1054

This occurred when east and west Rome began to split into the Byzantine and west empires. As well as that the Pope announced that his church separated itself from the rest as mother of all churches.

Islam: Sejuk Dynasty

Period: Dec 24, 1071 to Dec 25, 1307

The difference between this dynasty and the ones before it was that they were not nearly as tolerant as the dynasties before hand.

England: Norman Invasion of England

Dec 24, 1072

A tapestry describes this war in detailed fashion like a panorama, it is called the Bayeux Tapestry.

Middle Ages: Pope Urban's Speech at Council of Clermont

Dec 24, 1095

He discussed the reasons for a crusade which were, to relieve yourself of sin, to control population, for race, for the holy land, and to remain pious.

Middle Ages: Christians Take Jerasalem

Dec 24, 1099

After the conquest Christians acted as if they were heroes, but in reality these groups of thugs trying to relieve themselves of sin brutally massacred a peaceful civilization.

Middle Ages: Third Crusade

Period: Dec 24, 1187 to Dec 25, 1192

During the Third Crusade, led by Richard the Lionheart of England, Philip II of France, and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, they made a truce with Saladin.

Middle Ages: Forth Crusade

Period: Dec 24, 1202 to Dec 25, 1204

These crusaders sacked the city of Constantinople even though they were on course to free Jerusalem.

Middle Ages: Childrens Crusade

Dec 24, 1212

A boy began preaching in either France or Germany claiming that he had been visited by Jesus and told to lead a Crusade to peacefully convert Muslims to Christianity. He had as many as 30,000 children follow him and eventually they were all sold into slavery.

Middle Ages: Fifth Crusade

Period: Dec 24, 1217 to Dec 25, 1221

An attempt by early western Europeans to reaquire Jerusalem and the rest of the holy lands.

Germanic Tribes and Early Christians: Prose Edda

Dec 24, 1220

Snorri Sturlson says that man lost the name of god because after Noah's flood the few left were rich and prosperous and did not value god. Thus, their children were not taught and the next children were not taught and on and on. Thor is described as angry, war-like, and heroic in his action, a lot like how men of this time strived to be and usually were.

Middle Ages: Sixth Crusade

Period: Dec 24, 1228 to Dec 25, 1229

The Sixth Crusade started in 1228 as an attempt to regain Jerusalem. It began seven years after the failure of the Fifth Crusade and involved very little actual fighting.

Middle Ages: Eighth Crusade

Dec 24, 1270

It is considered a failure since King Louis died of disease and his army dispersed shorty afterwords.

Middle Ages: Ninth Crusade

Period: Dec 24, 1271 to Dec 25, 1272

Although King Edward saw impressive victories over the Baibers, he had pressing conflicts at home and the Crusading spirit was gone so he withdrew.

Islam: Ibn Battuta goes on Pilgrimage to Mecca

Dec 24, 1325

Ibn Battuta was a follower of the Islamic faith and started the well known practice of pilgrim-aging to Mecca once in your lifetime.

Middle Ages: Ottoman Empire

Dec 24, 1453

The Ottoman Empire was an empire that consisted of Turks that eventually took control of the roman city, Constantinople.